Closed For Renovations
by Niveous Lilt
Summary: -Sequel to Browning paper- Everything has returned to normal and life is as it should be..until Sasuke starts getting unadressed notes in the mail, and the magnets on the fridge begin to move by themselves...
1. Magnets

**Chapter 1:Magnets**

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

"**The tender word forgotten** **the letter you did not write, the flower you might have sent, dear are your haunting **_**ghosts**_** tonight."**

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Naruto sat up suddenly, the sheets pooling around his waist. He glanced over at a still sleeping Sasuke and smiled. Sasuke looked so angelic at night. It amazed him how someone who's biting comments sent girls running home crying could look so peaceful and contented in sleep. Sasuke mumbled something incoherently, and reached out a hand for him. Ignoring the hand, Naruto glanced blearily around the room. Something had woken him up. He felt it, somewhere in the back of his mind, a constant tugging. he sighed suddenly feeling the urge to get a glass of water. Slipping slowly out of bed, so that he didn't rouse Sasuke Naruto quietly made his way down the hall and flight of steps that led to the kitchen. The light over the stove cast an eerie glare on every surface and Naruto could have sworn that he saw a figure. He blinked quickly, and shrugged when he saw nothing there, must have been a trick of the light.

Naruto opened the refrigerator and searched its contents lazily, he slammed it closed it disgust. His eyes almost immediately landed on the magnets outside of the refrigerator door. They had quite a collection, as Naruto insisted that they get a magnet every time they passed a store or went somewhere different. Sasuke thought it a silly hobby, but let Naruto indulge himself. On the last trip to the grocery store Naruto had spotted a pack of magnets shaped like the letters of the alphabet .The magnets were a rainbow variety. They ranged in color from bright yellow to black. Naruto thought they were precious and instantly bought them. Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the gaudy accessories and told Naruto that they 'were not going on the fridge!'

Naruto shook his head and grabbed a water bottle from the counter, as soon as his fingers brushed the plastic his thirst disappeared and he was left with a deep confusion. Naruto placed the water bottle down slowly and tried to make sense of the processes in his brain. In the end he gave up and chalked it up to a task that he would finish in the morning, Along with the dishes and the laundry. Naruto ran up the stairs and hopped in the bed, letting him be drawn into Sasuke's warm embrace. As he closed his eyes he registered that the person he had seen earlier in the kitchen, the trick of light… had looked oddly like Itachi.

The next morning Naruto woke to the loud beeping of his alarm clock and the smell of bacon wafting under his nose. He rolled out of bed lazily and on to the floor and tried to push his body towards the door. He moaned loudly when his head collided with a pair of feet. He looked up slowly.

"It's about time you got up dobe. Breakfast was getting cold"

Normally Naruto would reply with ' you bastard!' but he had one foot in a dream and the other in reality, Sasuke laughed and nudged Naruto gently with his foot.

"Come on its almost time for school"

"Thanks mom" Naruto drawled out slowly, testing his mouth muscles. The last time he had tried talking to Sasuke this early all he had managed to get out was a bunch of gibberish. Oh wait! That was yesterday.

Naruto hated Tuesdays, almost as much as he hated Mondays. Naruto believed god made Tuesday to taunt the people who enjoyed Mondays. Tuesday was just like a clone Monday. You have the weekend. Then there's Monday. Then there's Tuesday and you're not even halfway done with the week. But really half way would be like on Wednesdays? Or like half into Wednesday and Thursday? Naruto clutched his head. This is what happens when he thought too hard. Naruto yawned and pushed Sasuke's foot away

"I'm up I'm up. Don't get your panties in a twist"

Naruto got up slowly and slinked down the stairs for breakfast. He vaguely remembered the events from the night before. They unfolded like a movie in his head Naruto plopped down in the smaller of the two chairs at the dining room table and ate his food silently. There was no way in hell that he was going to give Sasuke a compliment. Naruto ate quickly and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Do you want some orange juice?" Sasuke asked close to his ear. Naruto jumped and nodded ignoring Sasuke's smirk .He pulled the carton from the fridge and poured Naruto some juice. Naruto's eyes widened when he spotted the outside of the appliance.

"Sasuke? Sasuke? Did you move my magnets around?"

Sasuke looked back confused. Naruto always put his magnets in a certain order. The ones from states were in order from largest to smallest while the letters were in alphabetical order

"Sasuke that's not funny"

Sasuke brought the full glass of orange juice to the table.

"What's not funny?" Sasuke followed Naruto's eyes. "I didn't do that"

"You don't have to lie" Naruto huffed.

By the look in Naruto's eyes Sasuke knew he did. Naruto's blue eyes were furious. They were looking at him as if he just whacked a dog to death with a steel bat.

"I'm not lying Naruto. Why the hell would I move your magnets?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know Sasuke! That's why I'm asking you!"

"I swear to you dobe. I didn't touch your fucking magnets"

Naruto cursed and inched down in his chair. He believed Sasuke. But who else could have done it? Again his mind flashed back to the man he had seen the night before. "Itachi?" Naruto whispered.

"What?" Sasuke was clearly confused now.

"Oh nothing"

That made no sense. Itachi? Itachi was clearly dead. If his grave stone wasn't a dead giveaway, But if it really was the older Uchiha it would have to mean that Itachi was a ghost. And ghost did not exist. It was impossible. Impossible. There was no way. But still Naruto could feel the first pricks of fear sinking in. Naruto sat up and gulped down the orange juice.

"Thank you Sasuke. I'm going to go get ready for school. Don't want to fail my senior year" Naruto joked. Upon passing the fridge Naruto paused. The moved letters glared back at him "They are coming" Naruto read aloud. Each letter was aligned perfectly with each other. It almost seemed too perfect to be real. "I must have done it. Like sleep walked or something' Naruto's brain supplied excuses one after another. Magnets could not move by themselves. It was impossible. So someone had to move them, someone, but whom? Naruto, with shaking hands replaced each of the magnets in their original places. Already his brain worked overtime to bury the memory deep within his subconscious. Sasuke walked past him and shook his shoulder.

"Come on. You can shower with me" Naruto smiled as Sasuke tried to get a grasp on some normality in their household.

"Sure that sounds nice."

Naruto and Sasuke barely made it to school on time. Even with Sasuke's maniac driving. They separated at the door and promised to meet for lunch. Naruto skidded into math as soon as the bell rung. He rolled his eyes at Kakashi's absence. When 11th grade ended Naruto had thought that he would be seeing less of Kakashi, but with him and Iruka always dropping in to visit, and Kakashi suddenly deciding that he wanting to teach seniors. He had no such luck; the only good thing about having Kakashi as a teacher? You could be late and still be on time. School this year was much more boring than the one before. He had more friends of course...Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji... But nobody could replace Gaara; his first friend slash art subject. Naruto's sat down in his usual seat and let his eyes wander. Eventually his thought led him back to the message on the fridge that morning.

'They are coming.' Who was coming? It didn't make sense

A shiver ran down Naruto's spine and he spun around quickly expecting to find someone eyes on him. He blushed when he realized one was behind him. Everyone in the room was either talking animatedly with a friend, or doodling in notebooks. Others just slept. But Naruto couldn't shake the feeling of someone's eyes on him. Kakashi came in not five minutes after Naruto and took a seat at his desk, immediately assigning a set of problems to complete. In the back of the classroom, if you looked closely enough the air shimmered slightly.

Kakashi paused from his explanation on slopes and stared intently at the back corner of the room. The class stared confusedly. Only Naruto followed his eyes, and only Naruto saw how the air shifted slightly, Only Naruto. For a second he caught Kakashi's eyes, in them he was the same confusion and fear he saw in his own .Kakashi blinked I shock. He clutched his head tightly between two hands. Absentmindedly he dismissed his class early. Naruto did not stop at his desk as expected. Instead he stood watching the same spot Kakashi was watching, and then he left; Already making his way to the school's library. Kakashi shivered. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. He could have sworn that he felt the cold stare on him, drilling into him. Stealing his soul…he could have sworn that he saw Itachi

**Wow, First chapter of ****CFR****. I promised myself that I wouldn't do this… Start a sequel right after finishing ****BP****. But I got such good reviews. So...yeah, I hope you guys enjoy this story. This is such a big leap from its prequel. I hope I'm not reaching for the stars here.**


	2. A Lover's Tale

**Chapter 2: A Lover's Tale**

**DISMALIMER: I do not own Naruto or any affiliate characters.**

"And every time I see you in my dreams I see your face you're _haunting _me"

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Naruto sat in the library for 30 minutes, his blonde spikes cradled in his hands. The time just slipped away like the sand in a storm. He missed the rest of his classes, and lunch with Sasuke. As always' Naruto thought with a grimace, 'the library proved to not be of much help', so resigned he headed for home. Naruto walked, his head down and shoulders heavy. He just walked. He didn't stop, even when his feet wandered in the opposite direction of the Uchiha estate. Eventually he found himself in his old neighborhood. For the first time he really noticed the grime on the side of the apartment buildings, and how the streets gleamed with dirt.

He admonished himself for thinking for even a second that he was better than the bum on his right, and the prostitute of his left. He once was one of them. This is what living with Uchiha Sasuke did to you. It made you hard. Closed your eyes to the outside world…it blinded you with pretty things and stole the bad memories away.

Naruto continued to walk, passing by people that he had known for years. He smiled at them, but was merely given a nod in return. He wasn't one of them anymore. They had barley acknowledged him then. But for some reason back then, it seemed liked they cared, because they had shared so many things. Now it just seemed cold and impersonal. "Go back to your mansion Blondie" their looks seem to say.

He gasped loudly when his ankle was grabbed roughly. Naruto turned wide frightened eyes to look at his captor, and instantly sighed in relief an old man sat there, looking at home with his brown shirt and ripped brown shorts. The man's clothes were an identical shade, and Naruto knew that years of dirt and grime had trekked over the original color. His face was wrinkled with age and when he smiled two gold teeth glinted with the afternoon sun.

"Would you like to hear a story?" the man wheezed out. Naruto shook his head frantically, yanking his ankle.

"My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I will tell you a tale of horror and pain...and of love" the man continued. Naruto shook his ankle.

"Please let me go." despite his eagerness to get away Naruto felt a spark of interest.

"You are seeing things...that cannot be there." he grinned again, and chuckled darkly. In the laugh Naruto heard something else, something like sadness. "Come, listen to my tale"

Naruto sighed with relief when his ankle was released. The man looked at him expectantly. Naruto sighed and sat down across from him, unmindful of the dirty sidewalk.

"Her name was Biwako. And I loved her so" the man began; His face for the first time void of his wide grin. "Her beauty marveled even the greatest pearl and the shiniest jewel" at the mention of the riches the man's face contorted in a deep hunger. "When Biwako died, even the sun dulled" at this he gestured to the sky, already it was bleeding into twilight.

"But Biwako, She was not meant to leave this earth so she… returned. She was pale as the moon she was, and clear as the clouds." Naruto shivered. The atmosphere got a little colder.

"Biwako had work to finish here; just as all spirits do. Your ghost has come to warn you. Something is coming" the man cackled. He took a glance at Naruto's confused face and he laughed again.

The laughter sent shivers down Naruto's spine. The man continued to giggle, Saliva sliding down the sides of his mouth. His nails buried themselves in the dirt beside them

"What does Itachi want to warn me about?" Naruto's voice was a mere whisper

"You will face many challenges young Naruto, and you will find that time is merely an illusion." the man continued, amusement still evident in his eyes. "I hope you are prepared."

Naruto turned his head as a bee buzzed near his ear. He swatted impatiently at it. "Prepared for what?" Naruto blinked when he noticed the spot next to him was empty. If Naruto hadn't been so sure he would have thought that the incident had never happened. The spot where the man had been sitting was not as dirty as the rest of the street, and the faint smell of alcohol was drifting lazily in the air.

Naruto shivered and got up slowly. Without realizing it his hands shook beside him. Naruto backed away slowly, eyes still fixated on the spot, and he ran. He turned and he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran past the bum and the prostitute, past the dealer and the gay couple. He ran until he couldn't run anymore, until he reached the front door of home. When he entered the house Sasuke stood there waiting for him, his normal calm expression in place. If it wasn't for Sasuke's ridged stance then Naruto would not have known that the other man was angry.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Naruto contemplated telling Sasuke the story of the old man and Biwako, but it all seemed too surreal. So he lied.

"I-I was studying in the library and I lost track of time" not all of it was a lie

"You were studying until 7 pm Naruto? The school closes at 4"

Three hours? He had spent three hours with that man? But that couldn't be .The story only took 2 minutes, five at the most. Naruto bit his lip, and the run home took what? 7 minutes? It didn't add up

_'And you will find that time is merely a delusion.'_

"Sorry Sasuke...I must have just lost track of the time"

Sasuke's eyes softened.

"Well just don't do it again"

Naruto grinned and pulled Sasuke into a one armed hug.

"So what's for dinner?"

The couple ended up ordering pizza, mostly because Sasuke refused to eat ramen...again. Sasuke studied Naruto's face as he stuffed his face with two slices at once. He could tell Naruto was lying to him. The pause for the answer was too long, and he knew that whenever Naruto lied he tucked hair behind his ears. It was something small, but Sasuke noticed. He would let it go for now. Sasuke threw his greasy plate in the trash can next to the table. He absentmindedly picked up the pile of mail on the counter. Lazily, he thumbed through it. Bill. Bill. Bill. Free credit card. Bill. Ah, what was this? Sasuke stared at the empty blank envelope in front of him. It was oddly perfect. The material was a blindingly white. Sasuke turned it over slowly searching for an address. It was completely blank. Sasuke hesitated a moment before opening it. Naruto, who had finished moments before went and peered over Sasuke's shoulder, the blonde stood on his toes and strained to see over him.

"Who is it from?"

"I don't know" Sasuke said softly

"Well open it then!"

"Wait a second"

Sasuke laced a long thin finger underneath the flap, and slowly dragged it along the opening. He shared a look with Naruto as he yanked the paper from the envelope. It fluttered to the ground. The paper itself was dirty. It was crumpled and it looked as though the whole letter had been written in a quill. The words were jumbled and sometimes hard to read. The ones that were legible did not make sense. They were just jumbled thoughts. One line in particular caught there eye. In big bold letters at the bottom of the note, were three perfectly formed words.

"They are coming" Sasuke said. Naruto laughed nervously and snatched the paper form Sasuke's hand.

"Obviously someone is playing with us"

Sasuke agreed, but in the back of his mind he wondered who would go through all this trouble just to tell them that someone was coming. And the question was there, the one he had dared not utter. "Who was coming?"

"Kakashi, are you coming to bed?" Iruka asked softly from the doorway of their study, behind him the clock red 12:00 in bright red letters seemingly ominous.

"In a moment I have some work to finish up" Kakashi said typing something on the computer and looking up.

"You know if you actually worked during your planning period you wouldn't always be up so long at night." Iruka said with a small smirk.

Kakashi laughed. "Ah, yes but I would be too tired to make love to you at night…I'll be up in a moment"

Iruka lingered for a moment, face creased in thought. He opened his mouth to say something and then thought better of it. "Alright…I love you"

"Love you more" Kakashi murmured softly

"Impossible" Iruka, said as he began to walk up the steps. The room was bathed suddenly in silence. Kakashi could hear the soft tick of the clock, and the faint sound of water running upstairs. The words of the computer screen had begun to blur together. He sighed and wiped his reading glasses from his face. And then the thoughts came.

With Itachi's death Kakashi was not as sad as he thought he would be. The older Uchiha had played a big role in his life after all. It took him some months to accept that he was not coming back, and more months after that for him to finally admit that would miss him. Kakashi had begun to have bad nightmares. Ones in which Itachi was always there talking to him, but no sound escaped those lips. His mouth moved frantically screaming at Kakashi and pointing, but in the dreams Kakashi's limbs were to heavy and his reactions to slow. He always woke up sweating and screaming.

Naruto sat beside Sasuke on the small blue couch, his nails lodged into Sasuke's arm. Naruto loved scary movies, if only because he loved being scared. Naruto was one of those people who would go see a clown movie even though he was deathly afraid of them. Naruto loved the thrill, the feel of his heart jumping into his throat. Naruto loved the wonder. He loved going to bed at night and wondering what was beneath it or what was in the closet that was cracked.

Sasuke hated scary movies, mostly because he didn't find them scary. He found them predictable and lame. The people in the movies were not real, and sometimes he had to resist the urge to yell at the dumb blonde on the scream running through the dark forest. Sasuke didn't like scary movies because he had been through worst.

The doorbell rang in the movie. Fifteen seconds later the phone's ring echoed thought the empty house. The girl on the screen wide blue eyes stared at them, silently pleading.

"Don't answer it Becky" whispered Naruto. His whole body vibrating with fear, by now he was perched on the edge of the couch, a pale pink lip pulled between teeth in concentration. Sasuke flinched slighted when their doorbell rang suddenly and shrilly. He shared a look with Naruto before getting up to answer it. He glanced at his watch.12:00. Naruto squeaked when the phone rang. Taking a deep breath and tearing his eyes away from the glowing screen, Naruto went to answer it. With shaking hands he picked up the phone. Slowly he pressed the receiver against his ear.

"Hello?" he said quietly, trying with all his might to keep the quivered in his throat to a minimum. For a moment Naruto tensed, just for moment though. Seconds later he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Hey Kiba!" he looked at Sasuke who was staring outside in bewilderment. "Nothing! Just watching a movie. It's about this girl, who is in an empty house, and she keeps on getting this weird phone calls and her doorbell keeps on ringing. But get this! When she answers it nobody's there!" Naruto switched the phone to his other ear, balancing the phone between his cheek and shoulder. "So this one night the doorbell rings. She goes to answer it and outside her door is a box! A simple box! It's getting so stupid." Naruto laughed at a statement Kiba made. He turned his head to glance at Sasuke again and froze. Sasuke was walking back into the house carrying a brown box in his hand. A simple brown box.

"Sasuke, where did you get that?" Naruto dropped the phone.

"It was outside the door. It's probably some pranking that little fucker down the street is trying to pull. "Naruto's eyes didn't leave the box. He ignored the calls from Kiba on the other line.

_"Naruto Dude, what was in the box man? DUDE! Don't leave me hanging. What was in the box?"_


End file.
